King Charles III jokes about pens to Camilla, Queen Consort during Scotland visit

“Pen-gate” has reared its head again for King Charles during his first joint royal engagement with Camilla since the Queen’s death. Watch the video.

King Charles III and his wife Camilla, Queen Consort, visited Scotland on Monday, local time, in their first joint public engagement since mourning the late Queen.

In stark contrast to King Charles’s sombre grief during the funeral of his mother, the new monarch looked animated and enthusiastically greeted the hundreds of locals, some waving Union Jacks, who turned out on the streets of Dunfermline in Fife, north of Edinburgh.

King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort walk to meet members of the public in Dunfermline in south east Scotland. Picture: Neil Hanna / AFP

The King even managed a light-hearted joke about pens to wife Camilla, which was caught on camera while they visited Dunfermline Abbey.

While signing the visitors book, King Charles can be heard to seemingly say “these things are so temperamental.”

The joke comes after the new monarch was filmed getting frustrated at a leaky pen last month while signing a document at Northern Ireland’s Hillsborough Castle, saying “I can’t bear this bloody thing! What they do, every stinking time.”

Just day before that, an irritated King Charles gestured for aides to help when a pen holder on the table got in his way as he was proclaimed king during the historic Privy Council ceremony.

King Charles III meets members of the public after leaving from City Chambers, to walk to Dunfermline Abbey in Dunfermline in south east Scotland. Picture: AFP

In true Scottish tradition Charles, 73, wore a kilt for the visit and stopped to shake hands and exchange pleasantries with the crowds who stood behind barricades.

Charles and Camilla also visited Dumfermline Abbey, to mark its 950th anniversary and greeted Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and other leaders before moving on to the City Chambers for a meeting.

King Charles III shakes hands with Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon as Scottish Secretary Alister Jack (left) looks on, at the City Chambers in Dunfermline, Fife. Picture: Andrew Milligan – Pool/Getty Images

The purpose of the royal couple’s visit was to formally confer city status on Dunfermline, the birthplace of King Charles I, who reigned in the 17th century before his execution, and who was the last British monarch born in Scotland.

In a speech, Charles said: “There could be no more fitting way to mark my beloved mother’s extraordinary life of service than by granting this honour to a place made famous by its own long and distinguished history, and by the indispensable role it has played in the life of our country.”

King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort attend an official council meeting at the City Chambers in Dunfermline, to formally mark the conferral of city status on the former town. Picture: AFP

“We gather to celebrate this great occasion but also to commemorate the life of Her late Majesty, whose deep love for Scotland was one of the foundations of her life,” he added.

Later on Monday, Charles and Camilla will host a reception for 300 guests at Edinburgh to celebrate the British South Asian community to acknowledge the contributions they have made culturally and economically to the UK.

Charles ascended to the throne immediately following the death of his mother, Elizabeth, who passed away in Balmoral Castle, Scotland, on September 8, with her funeral held on September 19.